


All That's Mine

by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)



Series: Fields of Gold [5]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cats, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, IronStrange Bingo 2019, M/M, Multi, OT3, Stephen Strange Bingo 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 09:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18465970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir
Summary: There was only one destination, really. It was a cat, it was black, it was adorable and it deserved to be with a witch. Who also had a heart of gold and a soft spot for everything living, as Tony had found out over the months of their acquaintance that was slowly turning into some sort of weird friendship."You're going to have the best home ever," Tony whispered into the carrier and set off to 177A Bleeker Street.





	All That's Mine

**Author's Note:**

> I got this truly adorable prompt:  
>  _Imagine if Tony adopts a small black cat for Stephen as a joke, because you know, Stephen’s a witch and all that. And then Tony is not surprised in the slightest when Stephen cares for this cat like they are his baby._
> 
> So I began this as Gen and it turned into drpepperony by itself. The cat is still called Nebula and yes, it's the same cat as it was in _[Better Days to Come](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18351095)_ \- some beings span the multiverse and will find each other in every possible timeline. Just like Stephen and Tony. And, in this case, Pepper.  
> @stephenstrangebingo prompt: _Fluff_ | @ironstrangebingo prompt: _Pepper Potts_
> 
> _This must be someone else's story_  
>  I can't follow what you've planned  
> How could this be about me  
> Am I supposed to understand?  
> ~ _All That's Mine_ , Depeche Mode  
> 

Tony almost didn't see the tiny black shape hiding in the corner of the shop window, looking out at the wide and scary world with big green eyes full of fear.

His heart melted and he was in there, handing over his credit card, before he even really knew what he was about to do. Only afterwards, with a carrier full of shivering black fur, he began to _think_ and ask himself what to do next.

He couldn't have a cat. Hell, Pepper - or more accurate, her damn allergy - would flare up and make them all miserable.

"Meow?"

He couldn't bring her back. He couldn't bring her home. He couldn't bring her to a shelter, the thought alone broke his heart. He couldn't bring her to the compound full of dangerous tech and highly trained but traumatized and jumpy people.

There was only one destination, really. It was a cat, it was black, it was adorable and it deserved to be with a witch. Who also had a heart of gold and a soft spot for everything living, as Tony had found out over the months of their acquaintance that was slowly turning into some sort of weird friendship.

"You're going to have the best home ever," Tony whispered into the carrier and set off to 177A Bleeker Street.

If there was the longing for the cat to be at home with Tony and Pepper _and_ Stephen it was so faint that Tony didn't even notice it.

Much.

*

"Hi, is Stephen home?"

Wong looked first at him, then the carrier and made an unimpressed face before he nodded and let them in. "In the library; you know the way." He vanished into thin air; presumably not interested in the drama to follow.

"Come on, let's get you to your new best friend," Tony whispered into the carrier and went to face the inevitable.

Stephen was sitting in the library, brooding over a book and looking kind of miserable. Well, Tony was here to change that.

"Hey, Stephen! I have something for you!"

"Tony, I've already told you that I don't need any help with my hands..." Stephen broke off when Tony put the carrier on his lap. "What's this?"

"Meow?"

"Your newest charge. I hope you like her because I seriously don't know where else to put her."

"Her?" 

Tony shrugged. "The guy in the shop told me that it's a she. Does it matter? Do you prefer males over females or something?"

"I don't care about whether someone is female or male - I just want to know why I have a cat in my lap."

The answer gave Tony hope, not that he acknowledged that. "Technically, you don't have a cat in your lap but a carrier. With a cat in it."

"Tony!"

This time there was a definitive warning in Stephen's voice. But he was already trying to open the carrier. "Hey, let me," Tony said softly and batted Stephen's shaking hands out of the way to do it himself. "I would have brought her to you without that contraption but they insisted."

"Did you seriously buy me a cat?"

Tony took the softly mewling kitten out, put the carrier on the floor and deposited her in Stephen's lap. "Do you seriously have any complains?" he asked.

Stephen looked first at him, then at the kitten, before he slowly raised his right hand and put it on her head. The purring started almost immediately as Stephen began to pet her.

"I thought that you need companionship," Tony finally admitted. "And that this, playing with her, petting her, taking care of her, might be good for your hands." Stephen had told him once that light exercise was good for his stiff fingers. Told like that it almost sounded like he had planned the whole thing. And if Tony had a half-formed fantasy to do the same to Stephen as Stephen was right now doing to the kitten nobody had to know about it.

"She's adorable," Stephen admitted.

 _So are you._ "What kind of village witch doesn't have a black cat?" Tony went on his knees beside Stephen and began to pet the little cat, too. Their fingers met every so often and Tony smiled every time it happened. "Pepper's allergic, you know," he finally said and his heart broke when Stephen put his hand back as if he'd been hit. Tony had expected that but it still hurt. "So expect to see me often because I love cats and I want to spend time with her, too."

Stephen's fingers came back and Tony began to stroke them together with the fur. "What's her name?" Stephen finally asked and Tony shrugged.

"Your cat, your choice. Tell me when you have it. I gotta go." He caressed Stephen's fingers, once again. "I'll call you," he said. Only later he'd noticed that his voice had dropped, just like when he promised the same to Pepper.

Fuck, he was so screwed.

*

"Hey, Pep?"

Pepper just looked at him. "Finally ready to talk about it?"

"It? What? I have no idea what you're talking about."

Pepper sighed. So much for not being subtle - it was time to get out an armor and hit Tony over the head with it, just like Rhodey had told her to do. "Your constant visits to the Museum, as you call it. How you run to the shower as soon as you come home as if you have something to hide." 

Silence. Then, "Pepper, I swear, there is nothing going on. How could you…"

Shit, she'd misread the situation and now Tony thought that she thought that he was cheating on her with Stephen. "Tony, Tony, calm down. Deep breaths." She was out of her chair and had her arms around her hyperventilating husband before he could get another word out. "Shhh. It's okay. I know, I know." She put her hand on his neck and directed him to rest his head on her shoulder. "It's okay," she repeated over and over again.

"You know?" Tony whispered against her neck. He sounded small but still full of hope. Pepper smiled and if it had been possible she'd fall in love with him even more than she already was.

"I know you're visiting Stephen and his cat, yes." She spoke directly into his ear, to make sure that every word was received. "I know that you shower because you want to be mindful of my allergy." She hesitated, now came the tricky part. "I know that you want Stephen." There, she couldn't make it any clearer.

She tightened her hold when Tony started to shake in her arms. Fuck, was he actually crying? "I'm sorry," he told her over and over again. "I didn't want to, I swear. You're all I need, promise. It's just… He's…"

"Tony!" Her shout finally got him to shut up. "As I said: It's okay. It get it." She took a deep breath, finally committing herself to the path she'd actually chosen weeks ago. "It's okay. I like him, too." She'd met with Stephen alone a couple of times and yes, Tony's fascination was more than understandable. Stephen was… everything. Witty, gorgeous, funny and also lonely. Despite Nebula, the cat, named after the person who had kept Tony alive and helped him to get back home where he belonged. Back to her. Stephen needed more people in his life. Pepper was more than okay with her and Tony being those 'people'.

Tony disentangled himself from her and looked at her, all big, glassy eyes and the most wonderful expression of stunned disbelief mixed with hope on his face. She leaned forwards and kissed him. "Let's visit them, together, and see where it takes us."

"Honey, your allergies…"

Pepper laughed. "God, Tony, they've been taken care of ages ago." Actually it had been Stephen and it wasn't that long ago but Tony didn't need to know that right now. "Let's go and meet the village witch and his black cat and take him out for a nice meal."

Tony still looked at her as if she'd just gifted him with the moon. "Really?"

"Really," she confirmed and kissed him before she dragged him up towards the wardrobe to pour him into clothes that where more date appropriate than the cat T-shirt he was wearing right now. 

*

Stephen woke up near dawn to a near silent "meow".

"Nebula?"

He wanted to get up but the strong arm around his waist tightened in warning. Apparently, Tony wasn't willing to let him up but… He put a shaking hand on Tony's arm to loosen his hold but Pepper was faster.

"I've got it."

She rolled over and with an elegant move that neither man was capable off anymore was down on the floor. "I know I'm not the one you really want", she whispered, and Stephen smiled. Nebula was fixated on him, since he was her primary contact person and fiercely protective and very, very jealous of the two people who had started to share his bed and life. "But Stephen's very exhausted and it's better to let him sleep." He couldn't see what was happening next but he could hear a faint "meow" and Pepper's delighted laugh. He loved her laugh. "Yes, that's better. Come here, Nebula."

A moment later Pepper was back in bed with two armfuls of big, black cat. "Here, see for yourself that he's okay."

Nebula strode over the bed, sniffed Tony for a moment before she settled in front of Stephen, just in front of his outstretched arm. He automatically began to pet her and the purring started immediately.

"Now that that's done," Pepper said, "I've got to go. I have a meeting way too early and still have to get over a few details of the contract first." She leaned forwards and kissed Stephen on the mouth. "Tony and Nebula here will stay to watch over you," she promised. "I'll be back in the evening and expect that you have dinner waiting for me."

"Not only dinner but two hot and gorgeous men who are ready and willing to follow your every command," Tony muttered from behind Stephen. Stephen could only nod in confirmation. 

"Nice." Pepper smiled at him and leaned over him to kiss Tony. "Take care of him," she whispered and Stephen pretended to not have heard it. He liked the protectiveness after all.

A short goodbye later and they were alone. Stephen in Tony's arms, where he - according to Tony at least - belonged and Nebula in front of him, already asleep.

"Go back to sleep, my love," Tony whispered against his neck and Stephen did exactly that, one hand cradled in Tony's strong grip, the other burrowed in Nebulas fur, the smell of Pepper's perfume still in the air.

He was safe and protected. He was home.

**Author's Note:**

> I've missed my OT3. There will be more. As always, thank you for reading and if you want to see what Nebula looks like follow the link to my Tumblr. 💞  
> [Tumblr](https://amethyst-noir.tumblr.com/post/184183979196/imagine-if-tony-adopts-a-small-black-cat-for) | [Bingo Card(s)](https://whenthesunburnsout.tumblr.com/)


End file.
